While Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam apologised, the Congress said it was not a party journal and he apologised in his personal capacity. Kicking off a furore in political circles, the unattributed article in the publication discussed the manner in which the Kashmir issue was handled by Nehru and his relations with India's first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

It also spoke about Sonia Gandhi's father and marriage and some of her political strategies in the past few years."Some words used in some articles of 'Congress Darshan' are certainly objectionable. I accept my mistake," Nirupam admitted.

A former journalist and editor-in-chief of the publication, Nirupam also promised to take action against people in the editorial panel who were responsible for the mistakes. "We shall also ensure that such mistakes are not repeated in the future," he said, before the sacking of Joshi was announced.

Congress spokesperson Tom Vaddakan told reporters that 'Congress Darshan' was "not a party journal and not a party publication". He said it was a defunct magazine which "some people had tried to restart" and "the party has no connection with it".

Asked about Nirupam apologising for the mistake, Vaddakan said "he had done so in his personal capacity". "He had not been officially assigned the job," he said. Ironically, the goof-up came as the Indian National Congress -- founded on December 28, 1885 -- celebrated its 130th anniversary on Monday and immediately created a political storm with the Bharatiya Janata Party welcoming it as Nirupam's "intellectual home-coming (ghar wapasi)".